HB 2408: FAMILY SAFETY; YEAR OF RESILIENCE, SAFETY, AND SURVIVOR JUSTICE; COERCIVE CONTROL; ECONOMIC ABUSE; PROTECTIVE PARENTS RIGHTS; NEURODIVERGENT CHILD PROTECTIONS; REPRODUCTIVE PRIVACY; AUTOMATIC PROTECTIVE ORDERS; CHILD WELFARE OMBUDSMAN; FAMILY VIOLENCE DOCKET

Session Year: 2025-2026
House: House
Latest Version Date: 2026-01-27

Current Status:

In Progress

(2026-02-02: Referred to HSH, CPC/JHA, FIN, referral sheet 6)

Introduced

In Committee

First Chamber

In Committee

Second Chamber

Final Decking

Enacted

Version:

Establishes comprehensive reforms to protect children and families from abuse and improve systemic responses. Part I: Establishes the calendar year 2027 as the Year of Resilience, Safety, and Survivor Justice. Part II: Modernizes statutory definitions of harm and child abuse. Part III: Recognizes coercive control as domestic abuse. Part IV: Reforms Family Court procedures to prioritize child safety and prohibit parental alienation theories. Part V: Defines economic abuse and strengthens financial protections, including automatic restraining orders, emergency hearings, forensic accounting authority, and liability for financial institutions. Part VI: Safeguards neurodivergent children and prohibits diagnosis shopping. Part VII: Protects reproductive privacy in custody proceedings. Part VIII: Enhances Child Welfare Services Branch accountability through audits and creation of a Child Welfare Ombudsman. Part IX: Requires automatic protective orders and custody restrictions in cases of severe violence. Part X: Creates a Family Violence Docket with mandatory judicial training and an advisory panel.

News Coverage:

HB 2408: Family Safety; Year of Resilience, Safety, and Survivor Justice; Coercive Control; Economic Abuse; Protective Parents Rights; Neurodivergent Child Protections; Reproductive Privacy; Automatic Protective Orders; Child Welfare Ombudsman; Family Violence Docket | Digital Democracy